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Reed nearly panics as the spiders swarm over the group, until Janira's soothing words come through, encouraging him to think instead of just react. He takes his hand off the handles of his axes, noting the ineffectiveness of Bazim's attack. Instead, he takes out a torch and lights it, forcing himself to do it calmly as the spiders crawl over his person.
Doodlevain leaves the spider covered area while Bazim fights against with bravery killing 4 or 5 spiders, only to understand too late there are way too much for the method to be effective.
Numair climbs up the tree and gets as far as he can from the menace of the swarms.
Janira then brings something, an alchemical fire and lends it to anyone wanting to make use of it "Fast, get this, use it against the swarms!" stepping then out of the swarms, and continuing her oratory.
The swarms move slightly catching everybody in the area within.
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Lionel stays staring at the swarms as they begin moving, stunned by the sheer volume of spiders.
Aw, heeell..., he thinks, before shouting at the others, "Ya all move towards Bazim, an' away from tha spiders! I'm gonna heal ya!", he says, sprinting towards the rotund Keleshite. "I really, really, really hate spiders!", he says, shaking around vigorously to shed away the blanket of spiders covering him. "AAAA!!! They're in ma pants!", he says, jumping around as he makes his way away from the swarm.
The party runs away as fast as they can from the swarms. A rain of alchemist fair bottles fly over the swarms.
Syrak's one crashes over the target burning a considerable part of the swarm.
Eveline's bottle is clearly going to fail the main target, but suddenly Janira says a word, the flask suddenly adjusting the trajectory and fully impacting in the midst of the swarm, burning most of the spiders and making the rest to disperse and flee.
Reed swings his torch at the spiders, while some alchemical fire splash lands over him, causing them to change direction, they moving over to Doodlevian instead, while the other spiders follow Janira who steps to the side lending another alchemical fire "There's another one here!"
Doodlevian and Janira seem immune to the spiders poison but Janira gets again distracted fighting with them.
Bazim and Reed immune system succeed on controlling the poison and they do not receive any further damage.
Janira again pronounces an inspiring word making Eveline's attack to succeed when it should probably not.
The fire directly hits the swarm, but still, too much spiders keep moving around at the place where Doodlevain was before.
While Syrak moves in between Numair and Janira, the blue spiders keep burning, finally dismissing the swarm attacking Janira.
Reed's torch hits the spiders, some of them die, but the swarm is way too numerous and rapidly start to move beyond the range of effect of the flame.
Bazim and Eveline seem startled by the situation and stand on place looking in terror at the swarm.
The spiders on their turn move forward surrounding the halfling while she curses the amount of money spoiled by the horrible insects.
The poison seems to affect the halfling making her less stronger.
At that point the alchemical fire still on the spiders makes it's effects.
Janira, with the alchemical fire still at her hands, and seeing no one is to take her offering, directly sends it forth towards the spiders once Eveline moves outside the swarm.
The spiders burn on the flask's fire and totally dismiss, returning the forest to the calm silence before the insects appeared.
Janira understands Eveline is under the effects of the spiders poison and runs over Eveline giving her an antitoxin before further damage can be dealt "Drink this sweetie, you will soon feel better"
Which is enough to stop the poison effects before it deals more damage to Eveline.
"Well, I should have probably made sure all of you had those alchemical weapons. Hopefully we will find no more of this on the following..." says Janira a bit sad.
She retrieves two cure light wounds potion from her bag and offers them to the party "I also have a healing wand, so let me know if you need further help to ready. We cannot continue in this conditions, but losing the full moon spot will mean waiting again for the conditions, so we have to press on"
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Lionel pats the less vicious halfling woman on the back, and utters, "Now, darlin', I'd hold 'em off for a real emergency. Ya know, like tha ones where tha one an' only Lion ain't here.", giving her a wink. "Now, y'all betta come 'round me, and see what we can do 'bout them wounds.". As soon as everyone gathers around the cleric, he reaches to the triple daggered amulet on his neck and kisses it.
The sound of insects buzzing around fills the air, as well as the sound of cheap, but still nice perfume.
"Huh. Seems like ya all been too nice an not nearly bad enough. Ah, well. Pass ova that wand, Jay Jay.", he says, shrugging and smiling at the party members.
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Eveline rushed away from the spiders, flailing her aching arms to get rid of all the creepy crawlies. Running almost blind she tripped on a tree root, straight into mud, effectively messing her entire wardrobe and armor. Stunned by the outcome, she silently got up sitting when Janira came over to feed the antitoxin to her. The bitter taste made her gag a little, but she still had the courtesy to quietly thank Janira for the assistance. Eve considered Janira's use of the word "sweetie" more of a habit than an indication of her interest.
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She feels she did her part in the combat, but is so irate about her multiple bite wounds and muddy, drenched clothes she stays sitting in the mud pool. Further frustrated by the poison still affecting her muscles, she reaches out to her backpack and pulls out a brand new healing wand, holding it in her hands for a moment.
"I was smart enough to get myself one of these," Eveline says quietly, trying to calm herself down before actually using it on herself. She, not surprisingly, eyes Lionel as he gives his speech and channels positive energy. Somehow Eveline feels even dirtier.
Janira drinks both of the potions restoring herself to full health as much as she can.
She then moves to Reed and touches him calling over some healing power.
With her wand she touches Bazim, Lionel and Syrak.
"Well, that's all I can do for you for now. We better save all of our resources. As you can see, these are dangerous lands" she waits for all of the group to be ready.
Seeing the spirits are a bit down, she starts a cherish oratory "And it was Selmius Foster’s race against a marid and efreeti on the isle of Jalmeray, which taught us that nothing is truly impossible and every situation can end in victory. Cam'on let's go!”
And so, the party resumes the travel through the wilderness. Youfind trails blocked by fallen objects, shortcuts overgrown, and other minor delays that cost a lot of time.
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Eveline takes point, confident in her abilities to navigate through a tough terrain, advising others to follow her or cut loose branches off the path.
During the voyage Eveline strikes up a small chat with Doodle. A habit she's not likely to do with others. "So, tell me, did you like Taldor?" she asks bluntly, "did they treat you special because of your extraordinary heritage?"
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"Well, I wasn't 100% welcomed, but I did gain admission to a few places that I never would have without my heritage. It just barely wet my whistle, though...if I can find out more about myself and make a name in the Society, I know they will take me in as one of them. Those nobility have quite the life. They all seem so smart. I can't wait to become one of them."
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"One of those decadent perverts interested only in money and sodomy?" Eveline asks disgusted, "let me tell you, I know what the nobility are like when the gown of courtesy is taken off. Too many have the illusion they have the power to control others' minds and do whatever they wish without the fear of consequences. But sure, good nobility exists, but it's so rare."
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Reed moves through the terrain with the others, nodding along with Eve's assessment of the nobility. Like any group, he was sure it was diversified and there were good members, but the majority were spoiled brats who thought that their money or name could erase their wrongdoings.
When he isn't paying attention to the terrain or the conversation around him, the ranger studies their escort, Janira, trying to take a lesson from the confidence and poise she exudes in the wilderness.
Bazim is startled at the strange directions the party is taking as you advance trough the wilderness, but Doodlevain seems all of an expert, always indicating to follow a path that ends saving time avoiding the obstacles, even maintaining a hearted conversation with Eveline and the others. Janira seems satisfied at the skill of the party and you seem to be advancing just on time to reach the cave.
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face.
She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth. The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!”
As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack and taking a scroll and a tanglefoot bag from it, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
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Eveline doesn't waste a single second hesitating Janira's advice; a minotaur might fall in the hands of a rookie party, but it would involve a great deal of luck. She dashes inside the cave, mainly trying to hide from view but stays near the entrance as she cannot see in total darkness.
"What is wrong with this island now?" Eveline asks in a whisper, catching her breath, "swarm of hungry spiders, a raging minotaur... maybe the gillmen are occultists too."
"Oh, Numair, I never properly thanked you for fixing my wardrobe. I'd hate to be mud statue walking among us. I hope you can cast light for us here too."
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Lionel trips and moves slowly, constantly cursing nature.
As soon as Janira gives the order, he nods and says, "I ain't much for leavin' folk alone against creatures of tha sort, guys.", says Lionel, looking at Janira dashing away. Before Janira dashes away, Lionel walks up to her, and gives her a pat on the back. "I'd give ya a kiss for good luck, but I can do it without tha kiss, darlin'.", as spectral wasps glide from his hand to the halfling to hover around her head for a while, before disappearing.
Walking into the cave, he continues, "I think we shoulda stayed, but I guess orders are orders... Anyway, let's move. If somethin' happens, we gonna find that minotaur and get some beef in our lives.", an unnatural glare coming from his eyes.
Once most of the party enters the cave, the ones remaining into doubt go and follow them, unwilling to have troubles with Janira, if not with the minotaur.
Last thing you see is the minotaur chasing after Janira through the trees, fighting its way through the dense undergrowth. Soon the cacophony of the chase fades and the sounds of the forest slowly return to normal.
This cave system stretches deep below the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, though most of it is accessible only through a narrow keyhole tunnel. All of the tunnels in the area are between 3 and 10 feet wide and vary equally in height, though most are a comfortable 7 or more feet wide in each dimension. The caves are damp and water dripping from stalactites and the distant rushing of underground streams creates an eerie backdrop as you explore.
The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light.
Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls, becoming increasingly frequent as you advance. The carvings seem some kind of mystical marks left behind to prove having reached the caves, but they are not in any common language. Perhaps gillmen leave them?
The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
As you get calmer and comfortable, you open Janira's bag, and after some detect magic and identification by Bazim and Doodlevain, they find:
- potion of barkskin
- potion of feather step
- potion of vanish
- scroll of entangle
- scroll of gust of wind
- scroll of identify
- scroll of mage armor (CL 6)
- scroll of obscuring mist
- wand of burning hands (CL 3rd, 4 charges)
- wand of cure light wounds (CL 3rd, 8 charges)
- acid flask
- holy water
- smokestick
- tanglefoot bag
- thunderstone